


Another Island

by KitKatKatieKat



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst, Identity Issues, Mind Control, Soranort - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 05:37:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20040796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitKatKatieKat/pseuds/KitKatKatieKat
Summary: Why did he answer? Why didn't he just leave? Why was something deep in his heart commanding him to stay? Sora didn't know, but soon his worries of oversharing were set aside by a deep urge to get something off his chest.





	Another Island

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I write a lot, but this is the first time I've posted anything! This story takes place in the Soranort AU of KH during KH3. Most of the context is explained in the story, anything else is basic Kingdom Hearts knowledge. This chapter is completely stand-alone, but if people like it then I might add another. Please give constructive feedback!!! Thanks :)

This world was familiar.  
Familiar... but not the same.

Motunui? Is that what the Master had called it before sending him off?  
It hardly mattered.  
The golden sand and gentle breeze reminded him of a different sea, a better sea. One where the laughter of children could be heard and where seagulls pecked at peculiarly shaped fruit. That was his home, or at least it used to be. This place was only a mere imitation.

Sora had been sent to this beach for recon, or at least, that's what Master Xehanort wanted him to think. Despite his usually oblivious nature, Sora could see through the old man easily. They wanted him kept aside. Stored where no one would think to look for him until the time came that he was useful. Until the final fight. Though at one time in his life Sora might have been angered by this, that part of him died when Xehanort took over. Now he could feel nothing. Only pain. Only a thick blanket of darkness dulling his free will.

Personal feelings or lack thereof aside, the keyblade wielder had a job to do. On this considerably bland world, lived a heart of pure light. Another princess of heart. He was to find out as much as he could about her without being caught.

Do not speak to anyone. Do not engage under any circumstances.

Saïx's words still rang through his head. Inwardly, he thought it was silly. He could handle any enemy this world threw at him. Yet, he agreed, if only to appease the Blunette's whining.

"Hey down there!" 

Oops. Looks like he'd been spotted. Sorry, Blunette.

A young girl, probably not much older than him, came running down the beach. Her hair, the curliest he'd ever seen, bounced around her round face with each step she took. How could she possibly see?

He briefly wondered if he should just leave, but she had already reached him, huffing and puffing. Sora noticed the crown-ish thing on her head. She must have been in charge.

"Shouldn't you be wor-...king...? Who are you?" 

Oh great. What was he supposed to say? Hi, I'm here on a mission from an evil organization that kidnapped and tortured me for months. Wanna join our war?  
He had noticed the second she came down that this was the princess he was looking for. Her heart was made of pure light. She was his mission, which meant he could not afford to mess this up.

Unsure how to respond, Sora went for a neutral approach.

"I could ask you the same question." The girl's frown deepened at his answer. Apparently she wasn't one for nonsense.

"Alright, now I know you're not from here. I am Moana, daughter of the Chief!" With no hesitation, she grabbed a nearby boat paddle and held it to his throat. Sora decided to humor her. If not for his own amusement, it was because her enthusiastic disposition reminded him so much of another girl. One with auburn hair and ocean eyes. One who cared about him. One who he could no longer feel affection for. Suddenly the harshness in his tone melted away, leaving an emotion he couldn't quite name.

"I'm... from another island." He said. Technically not a lie, it should be noted. All signs of anger fell from the girl's face when he said this.

"Y-you mean-" She dropped her paddle. "You're from beyond the reef!?" Sora didn't answer, but by the way she started jumping in place, it seemed that he didn't have to.  
"Th-then... you can tell my father that it's safe! That we can go beyond and explore! C'mon!" The strange girl abruptly grabbed his hand as if he weren't one of the most dangerous threats in all the worlds and tried to drag him back to her town. He stayed put. 

Though he was curious to see where this would go, he didn't need Saix or possibly Xehanort punishing him for disobeying orders. Technically he already had when he opened his mouth, but they didn't have to know that. 

Sora was a secret that couldn't be shared, lest he break free and take his heart back. Though right now he was still fairly aware, his actions were not his own. Sometimes his body would flat out disobey him. Sometimes his mind would too. He knew it was only a matter of time before any traces of his old personality were gone. He also knew that Xehanort was stalling until that day came. Maybe he should just give in, instead of prolonging the inevitable. Maybe.

The girl's concerned face dragged Sora out of his thoughts and he realized he'd zoned out.

"What's wrong? Aren't you gonna come back with me?" she asked, dejectedly. Sora could've made up a lie in response. He could've just left, providing no explanation. He could've done a lot of things, but instead he turned on his heel, and knelt down on the shore. Moana quickly followed, not sitting down, but studying him as if looking for some hidden element. Sora sighed and set his gaze on the line where the sky met the sea. 

"Who are you... really?" She questioned again, more hesitantly this time. The girl was smart, it seemed. She could tell there was more to Sora than what met the eye.

"I..." The Seeker of Darkness began, but then an idea came to mind. To answer one question with another. "Moana, was it?" 

The girl nodded, finally crouching beside him, though her disposition was still far from trusting it seemed. That was probably for the best.

"Why do you want to leave this island? Do you not like it here?" The question seemed to catch her off-guard, as if she had expected him to ask something else. This was a question Sora needed to know the answer to. Maybe if he understood her reasoning, then he'd understand someone else he knew a little better.

"I do, it's just..." Moana stared at her hands. "I have to know what's out there. Sometimes... sometimes I can feel the ocean calling me. It's... it's who I am."  
Sora shook his head. He'd seen this before. Not only in other people but in himself. A selfish need to explore. 

"Is that so?" He mused, picking up a seashell and running his fingers along the grooves. "Curiosity can be dangerous you know." The girl nodded hesitantly. She knew this well. Suddenly, Sora met her gaze for what was probably the first time since their meeting. If she felt put off by his golden stare, she didn't show it.

"What if you could leave this island? What if you could go on a fantastic adventure and make a bunch of friends along the way... but to do it... you could never come back here? Would you leave everyone behind?" She gasped at his question, obviously appalled. But this was a question Sora had asked himself many times in the past.

"N-no! I... I have a duty to my people, to serve as their chief. I can't just leave them." She answered, her mouth pressed in a firm line that suggested resolution, however it didn't meet her eyes. Sora noticed this.

"But you still want to." 

She didn't respond. She didn't have to. Sora could tell by the expression on her face that he was right.

The two remained silent for quite a while after that. When Sora arrived it had been close to sunset, yet now the sky was full of hundreds of shining stars. Some said that each one was a different world, but Sora knew now that the two things were completely unrelated. Just stories made up by children who knew nothing of keyblades or heartless or war. Stories Sora himself once believed.

It was when he looked over to Moana, who had such a yearning gaze towards the sea, that Sora knew what to say. 

"You remind me of someone." She jumped at his voice, but quickly recovered, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Who?"

Sora smiled, and for a second it was almost like he felt something, but any emotion was quickly covered by the cold smothering that he had come to associate with darkness.

"A boy I knew. He lived on an island a lot like this one. He had lots of friends too. One day... this boy's closest friend decided that their island was too small. So he left. Soon after that, the boy got separated from the rest of his friends too. He was heartbroken, but he did everything he could to find them. Eventually, he did. But the boy's friend had changed. Overcome by curiosity and greed, the friend lashed out at the boy. The friend tried to hurt him." 

Moana gasped, clearly immersed by the story. 

"But... the boy was able to get through to him. And the friend came around in the end. So... even if you decide to leave... don't forget who your friends are." 

When Sora had first started his story, he hadn't expected to disclose so much, but it was like the words came out before he could fully process them. Maybe it was because he never had anyone to talk about that night before. The night he lost everything, but gained so much. Maybe it was because he could no longer feel, but suddenly talking about these things meant nothing to Sora. They were just words. 

History.

"And the boy? What happened to him?"

Sora jumped. In his concentration he'd forgotten about the princess sitting beside him. He quickly recovered though, and tried to figure out how to answer her question without revealing too much.

"Oh... well, the boy went through many adventures after that with his friends and... everything seemed good." 

"Seemed?"

Why did he answer? Why didn't he just leave? Why was something deep in his heart commanding him to stay? Sora didn't know, but soon his worries of oversharing were set aside by a deep urge to get something off his chest.

"Well... now the boy isn't too sure. He hasn't seen his friends in a long time and... maybe it's better that way."

"How's that?" 

"The boy isn't the same as he used to be. Lots of things have changed. If he saw his friends again... he's not sure what he'd do." 

Sora sighed, feeling something that couldn't quite be described as sadness fill his heart. Resignation. That was it. That's what Xehanort wanted from him. He didn't need another evil soldier who jumps at the chance for sadistic behavior. No... Xehanort needed a perfect little doll, one he could force to do anything he wished.

"That's stupid." 

Sora jumped, partly because of Moana's response and partly because she suddenly stood. 

"Huh?" The boy gaped, genuinely confused by Moana's words; she only flashed a warm smile.

"If the boy could get his friends back after they strayed so far, then why does he think that they wouldn't do the same? Are they bad friends?"

"No! They're great fr-..." Sora realized his mistake. There was a pause after that, perhaps because Moana was silently patting herself on the back for that trick. Sora could tell by her face. No later had she finally stopped smirking when Sora stood abruptly.

"I... Moana?" His voice came out softer than he would've liked- than Xehanort would've liked. 

"Hm?"

"Have you ever felt like... you're not the one in control of your life? And... and there's nothing you can do about it?" 

It was a stupid question, really. What teenager wouldn't whine about having no freedom, even if none were as... restricted as Sora? Still, the curly-haired girl clapped her hands together in agreement.

"Oh, all the time! Sometimes it feels like everything on this island is predetermined y'know? Like, everyone has their own role and if I don't play mine then everything will fall apart."

Sora paused, eyeing the girl with genuine attention.

"And how do you deal with that?"

Moana made a hm sound, presumably thinking, before placing a hand on Sora's shoulder. For the first time in months, he didn't flinch.

"Well, it's hard most of the time. But... I guess I just enjoy my little freedom while it lasts. I'll take whatever I can get." She smiled, and Sora smiled too. Not like his old smiles, the ones that stretched from ear to ear and brought light to even the darkest of days. No, this was more of a grin, a friendly, quirk of the lips like the ones offered to school acquaintances when you see them at the supermarket. Even so, it was probably the closest thing to a smile Sora had had in a long time. 

The moment passed and Sora finally stood, stretching out limbs he hadn't realized had gotten stiff. 

"Thank you, Moana."

The girl glanced at him questioningly.

"For what?"

"Sleepra."

With a single whispered word, Moana was out like a light. She would have fallen in the sea had Sora not caught her and laid her gently on the beach, far from where the tide might wash her away. When she woke, she would probably assume their meeting was a dream.

Good.  
Less problems for him.

He would return now. His job was done.  
When Saix asked, he would inform that he observed the princess and learned about her culture. That would be it. No one in the Organization needed to know about their conversation. 

And maybe someday Sora wouldn't even be able to do that- lie that is. Maybe soon he'd be the doll that Xehanort wanted. A doll that couldn't think on it's own. But for now, Moana's words echoed in his heart.

Enjoy your freedom while it lasts. Take what you can get.


End file.
